Wood accepted a football scholarship from Southern Methodist University. He was redshirted in 2011.[1] He played in nine games in 2012, tallying five solo tackles, four tackle assists and half a sack.
He played in 12 games, all starts as a 3–4defensive end, in 2013, making 25 solo tackles, 24 tackle assists, one sack, one pass breakup, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.
Wood appeared in 12 games, all starts as a 3–4 defensive end, in 2014, registering 18 solo tackles, 22 tackle assists, 4 sacks and 1 fumble recovery.[3]
He played in 10 games with 9 starts in 2015 and was a team captain. He recorded 29 solo tackles, 10 tackle assists, 3.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups and 3 blocked kicks.[4][5] Wood also spent time at long snapper in college.[6][7][8] He finished his college career with 33-of-43 starts, 137 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 3 blocked kicks.
Professional career
Pre-draft
Wood was rated the 85th best defensive end in the 2016 NFL draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[9]
He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 16, 2017. In his second training camp with the Cowboys, he concentrated on being a long snapper and taking some of the practice load from stalwart L. P. Ladouceur. He was released on September 2, 2017.[12][13]
New Orleans Saints
In 2017, the New Orleans Saints couldn't find a potential candidate for the long snapper job during training camp. On August 28, the Saints obtained Jon Dorenbos from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a seventh-round draft pick (not exercised).[14][15] On September 7, it was revealed that Dorenbos was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm, which required immediate heart surgery. He was placed on the non-football illness list the same day, and released with an injury settlement on September 9, before announcing his retirement.[16] On September 9, Wood was signed by the Saints, after a last minute tryout that included four other players.[17] He successfully became the team's long snapper for all punts and placekicks during the season.
On February 20, 2018, he was re-signed to a one-year contract. On February 11, 2019, he was re-signed to a one-year contract. On March 23, 2020, Wood signed a four-year contract with the Saints.[18] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on August 6, 2020,[19] and activated from the list three days later.[20]
On July 28, 2023, Wood signed a four-year contract extension with the Saints.[21]
References
^ abc"Zach Wood". smumustangs.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
_(cropped).jpg)
